Has anyone noticed how much attetion brushes receive on this forum?
Perhaps it's The Shave Nook's destiny to become the authority on shaving brushes. Maybe management should consider this.

Interviews, articles, instruction, history, etc The go to place when you need info on brushes. Interviews with a well known manufacture like ShaveMac, Simpson or Kent would be cool. Articles or interviews with custom brush makers. The hows and whys. etc.

On a forum topic related note, I've used my new Vie-Long "Zurito" horse hair brush a couple of times and can't get over how soft it is. It handles hard soaps nicely and is a great cream brush. A bit lofty, but seems stiff enough not to flop.

The loft is a bit high, but has some backbone

The handle is very comfortable and has a nice weight, plus it's nice to look at and is a welcomed addition to all the white handles on my shelf. I'm enjoying the brush, so it's getting broken in rather fast. Where's the scritch? No scritch whatsoever. The softness still amazes me and I think how soft it will become after it's fully broken in. My only worry is that it may become floppy over time, but only time and use will tell.

The brush lathers creams very well and can handle hard soaps rather well

If, in time, the bristles flop, I know I have an excellent handle for a new knot. Overall, the brush was well worth the sale price at BGS.

Congrats Johnny on a great brush. I agree completely with you regarding the handle. Unfortunately though, I found it to be very prickly on my face & it gave me brush burn. I do like to use some pressure when I lather which is what made the pricklier hairs noticeable. So while many find this brush to be very soft I ended up trading mine away. I wanted to love it & it's got great quality all about it, but my face just said no to it. I hope it serves your well for many years to come!

This forum is very brush centric. I think that's due to most other forums it's 95% badger discussion, 5% other. This forum has much more even discussion on boar, badger, horse and synthetic which I like. Though I use badger mostly (though recently jumped into boar due to this forum), it's really neat to read about all the stuff I'm not as familiar with.

The Zurito really is a fantastic brush. It was my third brush and first horse hair. So far out of the brushes I've tried, if I had to only use one brush, the Zurito would be it. The handle design is beautiful and comfortable. The knot is not overly dense, and the tips are really very soft. It's the only brush I have that I would consider getting a second of. I've been eyeing the LE Beehive in dyed horse as an alternate.

I wish I would have tried horse a while ago, I think it makes a great brush. I don't see myself using badger any time soon. However, I did buy a few brushes and want to give them a test drive some time soon. The Omega Scarlatti (boar) is next, after that, the Vulfix Grosvener (boar/badger), then back to the Vie-Long LE (horse/badger).

I can see myself buying that Muhle Fiber brush before the end of next week. I've been scratching my chin over it for a few days now.

I now have V-L Beehive LEs in both dyed and un-dyed horse hair and love 'em both. For what it's worth, the dyed versions have a little less backbone. For the money, these HH brushes are hard to beat and to me, bridge boar and badger nicely.

(04-22-2012, 06:10 AM)TexBilly Wrote: I now have V-L Beehive LEs in both dyed and un-dyed horse hair and love 'em both. For what it's worth, the dyed versions have a little less backbone. For the money, these HH brushes are hard to beat and to me, bridge boar and badger nicely.

thanks....i'm looking at all 3 now....horse natural, horse died and horse/badger mix.

(04-22-2012, 06:10 AM)TexBilly Wrote: I now have V-L Beehive LEs in both dyed and un-dyed horse hair and love 'em both. For what it's worth, the dyed versions have a little less backbone. For the money, these HH brushes are hard to beat and to me, bridge boar and badger nicely.

thanks....i'm looking at all 3 now....horse natural, horse died and horse/badger mix.

trying to decide.

The horse/badger mix LE has a rather short loft; which makes it pretty stiff and a little rough. I don't mind it because sometimes I go several days without shaving and that brush has no problem getting through heavy growth to lift the hairs. Horse isn't a rough bristle, so the LE mix brush could have been a much softer combination.

If boar is on the left and badger is on the right, I would place horse to the right of center in terms of softness.

Zurito is great! Works so well with my bowl lathering tendencies yet as mentioned, still has some backbone.
I love it so much so that I've added 2 more horse brushes, the Vie Long Bullgoose LE Natural and the Vie Long Peleon.

I love em' all. The only oddity and not such a big deal with the Zurito is that, over time, some of the shorter hairs are curling up after the brush dries. Again, not a big deal, just something that I haven't yet seen with badger or boar nor do I see with the natural horse brushes.

(04-23-2012, 04:01 AM)EHV Wrote: The only oddity and not such a big deal with the Zurito is that, over time, some of the shorter hairs are curling up after the brush dries. Again, not a big deal, just something that I haven't yet seen with badger or boar nor do I see with the natural horse brushes.

I noticed this as well just last night. The problem that made it a big deal for me was that it made a small knot that I had to pick out with a comb. I hang my brushes, so I have no idea what caused it. Very odd indeed.